I was watching a video the other day about how to get first gigs as a dj. The guy said to think bigger and to host events instead of trying to play at events. I actually thought this was a great idea.
I figure that there’s a million beginner DJs who would jump at a chance to play at a venue, even if they’re not getting paid. It’s just great exposure. I also figure there’s a million venues who don’t have alot going on on a weekday night.
I feel like this is the perfect opportunity. All I need to do is connect those DJs with those venues. i.e. set up events during the weeknights at the bars. On top of that, I film everything with a $50 camcorder and go and edit the videos together for TikTok and reels. The venue wins because they get promo and content for their spot, the DJs win because they get to play, and get to go viral on social media at the same time, and I win because I get to play, as well as build a great community and connections in the nightlife scene.
I’ve actually wanted to host events for years and this is the perfect segue. Not only does it combine my love for DJing with my interest in business and content creation, but now I get to host events like I’ve always wanted to as well.
I haven’t done anything yet of course, but I’m confident that this is going to work. I’ve already got one conversation going with a local bar operator about doing a weeknight show in exchange for creating content for them. I also talked to a hip clothing store in the Lower East Side and offered to DJ for them.
I’m going to buy a camcorder so that I don’t run out of storage space on my phone, and shoot to get tons of content for the night. It will be a joy to go and cut the clips afterwards to make reels and TikToks out of the footage. I will also be able to go and do longer form footage as well. Was just watching a video on how it may be a good idea to shoot in 4k horizontally, and then crop out the vertical footage for reels, tiktok, etc.
I’m wondering if I need to order the camera now or if I should wait on it. I do have the extra cash sitting around in my fun account, and I feel like having that film camera would give me good presence to get people to do interviews with me, and to allow me to go around and film the bar without looking like a weirdo. Or at least, I would feel less like a weirdo. Maybe it would actually be more weird and I’m just getting in my own head.
Why not try it out tongiht. I could just go to bar 167 and go and film them playing pool. It would raise alot less questions if I was doing it on my iphone than a camcorder setup. But then again, if I do it with the camera, it would be a good thing for people to come up to me and be asking me questions about it, because it would give me the chance to create more content out of it, and it would attract good subjects for the interviews.
I can stand outside the bars and do interviews with poeple there. I can ask them what their favorite Borroughs are, what they liek doing in NYC, where their favorite places to go out are, how theyr’e liking the music. Literally any questions. What drinks they love to drink.
This is going to be awesome because its’ going to be such cool prommo for NYC in general too. People love this place and love to hear about it. I loved watching content from NYC and it just helps the world to dream bigger and to open ideas for all kinds of people.
How to host an event: https://theedmguide.com/books/how-to-throw-a-rave
Throwing your own event: https://www.digitaldjtips.com/rock-the-dancefloor/throwing-your-own-event/
- collect email addresses at the party
How to put on a house concert: https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/how-to-put-on-a-house-concert-and-host-them-successfully-a-guide-for-musicians/
- Sell tickets in advance online
- Say some words before the show, and in between sets. Then you’re setting the vibe for the event.
- collect emails
- sell merch online
Make a little portfolio slide of all of the videos you’ve gotten lots of views on:
Go out every weekend and during the weeknights too, and film the whole night. Practice making content for the nightlife.